


Midnight on Platform Two

by traumschwinge



Category: X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Fandom, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Meetings, Fluff, Friday the 13th - Freeform, M/M, Trains, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-15
Updated: 2015-02-15
Packaged: 2018-03-12 22:09:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3357059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/traumschwinge/pseuds/traumschwinge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just at the end of a terrible, exhausting Friday, Erik is stranded at a station in the middle of nowhere that is made up of nothing but two platforms and rails in the middle, instead of going to bed at his parent's place. Nothing had gone according to plan that day and any more superstitious person would blame it on the date. But just a few minutes after midnight, a young man steps under the shelter Erik's sulking at the universe in general in and that just might change his view on the entire day he'd just had to endure.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Midnight on Platform Two

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by ([x](http://traumschwinge.tumblr.com/post/110929407157/jinnaidaisuke-imagine-someone-who-is-in-no-way))  
> Mind the description of German trains might only be slightly exaggerated (very, very slightly, speaking from personal experience).

Erik stared down at the train ticket in his hands. Like it was mocking him, it had the arrival time 20:48 printed on. It was by now three hours later than that and he was nowhere near his destination. In fact, he was pretty much sure nowhere was a rather accurate description of where he was. He was sitting inside the only shelter on a platform with nothing but fields and meadows in sight. Supposedly, there should have been a train to his destination from here about an hour ago, but it never had showed up. His cell phone's battery had died hours ago, when he hadn't been able to get a seat near a socket even though he had reserved one.

He wasn't superstitious, at all, but he couldn't help taking it as a sign. Maybe the universe wanted to tell him never ever to travel by train again and just get a car again. What did it matter that parking space was scarce in the city if he didn't have to freeze on a lonely platform for hours. If there at least had been a telephone booth he could have called his mother to tell her he would be even later than he had estimated earlier. Surely she should know by now, but he felt like that would make it better. A telephone would also mean he could call a taxi. But there was none. He had checked half an hour ago.

There had been a train coming through about ten minutes ago, but it had been on the opposite platform and even if Erik had wanted to get on by the time he had noticed it it had been too late. It was just another drip in the overflowing bucket of a mess this day had been.

It had started with a broken alarm and by then, Erik should really have known better than still get up and go to work. Work had been a nightmare, too, with their representative office from China mailing him that there would be an inspection the following Monday and since they hadn't gotten approval for some of the changes they had made to products lately, the Chinese office would need old versions of those products asap. Erik had been running around ordering people to check all storage and whatever they could think of for the old versions. It had been a nightmare. If it had been up to him, he would have just shut down that stupid office. But accounting assured him that this would cost way more than it would benefit them, so that was no option.

He had gotten out of there an hour later than he'd planned to. That had meant he had only been able to throw some random clothes into his suitcase and then grab an incredibly gross and overpriced dinner at the micro bakery at the platform, only to find upon his rushed arrival at the platform that his train was late almost half an hour. Of course only almost half an hour. Trains never, to Erik's knowledge, were late half an hour, it was always just one to five minutes short of that.

He had eaten before the train had even arrived. The train had been too fully and all the reservation displays had been broken. That had forced him to scare some kid off his reserved seat which only had succeeded because when the conductor had come through and told the kid to move it when presented with Erik's ticket.

The half an hour delay had caused him to miss his connection. The very unhelpful conductor had just told him to stay on until the next big city and then get another train in the general direction, possibly also ask at the information about possible connections. There hadn't been direct connections anymore when he'd asked, so he was stuck either there or had the possibility to try and get to his destination by regional trains.

Erik had cursed, but in the end decided to try his luck with the regional trains. At that point, he'd only hoped to arrive home before midnight. But then, he had to change trains, right in the middle of nowhere, and that was how he'd gotten stranded. Erik loathed trains with passion at this point.

Just when he was idly contemplating twisting the rails because he was bored and nobody was using them anyway, somebody stepped into the light of the shelter. For a moment, Erik tensed. He could remember quite a few incidents that had happened to him on dark and empty platforms. But of course, this wouldn't happen here, at a place he'd never heard of before and most likely never would again. Much to his luck, he didn't look very Jewish—or mutant.

But the moment of panic turned out to be pointless, The guy who had just stepped under the shelter was small, young and much too cute to be stranded here as well. Erik stared for a moment, before he realized what he was doing and looked away. He still sneaked a look at the guy's ass though, when the guy took out his cell phone and started looking something up on it.

Two minutes later, the guy looked up and over to Erik.

“ _Entschuldigen Sie_ ,” he asked, his words laden with a heavy English accent.

Erik sighed. He was way too tired so he'd rather deal with a foreign language he actually spoke than figuring out his mother tongue spoken with an accent. “What's the matter?“

The guy held his phone out to Erik. “Can you explain me what this means?”

Erik skimmed over the page he had open. It showed the schedule for this station with a big fat disclaimer at the top. Erik let out a slow breath. “It means there had been a malfunction somewhere on the track and... oh, there will be a train going to the nearest city in about...” He pointed at the phone. “May I?” The guy nodded and so Erik took it and did some quick searches. Again, he let out a sigh. “There will be another train in about fifteen more minutes. Wow, great, I've been stuck here for an hour.” Erik handed the phone back.

“Really?” The guy beamed and for a second Erik wondered if anyone could be blinded by a single smile.

Erik nodded. “That's what it said. They repaired the malfunction.”

“Oh thank goodness.” The guy flopped down next to Erik on the bench. “Thank you. I don't think I'd have figured it out on my own. Google translate took forever to load.”

Erik shrugged. “Well, at least you still have some battery. My phone died hours ago.”

The guy pulled a face. “That's too bad.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Erik sighed. “I should have been home at my mother's three hours ago. Where were you headed?”

“I'm just traveling around,” the guy answered. “I'm on holiday and thought it would be a good idea to explore the country by train. Turns out that's not a good idea in cold weather.”

That made Erik actually laugh. “No shit, the trains are always late as soon as it's either cold, snowy, rainy, foggy, or anything else that isn't '20 degrees and mildly sunny'. You get used to it. Though I haven't had luck this bad since forever. I guess the universe is telling me to stop relying on trains.”

“It could just be that Friday the 13th is not your day,” the guy said.

“I don't believe in this kind of fate,” Erik huffed.

The guy hummed. He looked down at his cell and then back up at Erik. “Well, does that mean you also don't believe in fate when it comes to meeting somebody on Valentine's day?”

For a moment, Erik forgot that he was supposed to keep his mouth closed when not talking. When he finally picked up his jaw again, he had to clear his throat first before he could answer. “You can't just believe or not believe in whatever suits you. So no, I don't. But...” He smirked and hoped it didn't look too carnivorous and more like he was flirting back. “I could be persuaded to change my mind.”

“Hi, I'm Charles,” the guy held out his hand for Erik who took it.

“Erik,” Erik introduced himself. “I know it's cliche, but I could just drown in your eyes.”

Charles laugh was just as clear and happy and perfect as his blue eyes. “Do you use this come on on stranger you like?”

“Only on the pretty ones,” Erik smirked.

That made Charles laugh again and Erik found he was rather taken. “Hm, but maybe you were right about fate and Valentine's,” he mused.

“Oh, was I now?” There was a twinkle in Charles' eyes that made Erik lean in closer closer. He would even have kissed Charles there and then, if not for the sound of an approaching train caused them to pull away and get up. Erik was feeling very silly by the time the train arrived. As if he knew it, Charles took Erik's hand and squeezed it briefly, before they boarded the train.

There were no other passengers in the wagon. They could easily have found themselves each their own compartment, but instead, the sat down on opposite benches. The one Erik picked squeaked in protest as he sat down and then gave in slightly too much for his likely, the springs worn from old age, but it took Erik only a slight nudge to rectify that.

“Impressive.” Charles eyes gleamed even brighter, despite the glum light inside the regional train.

Erik blushed. “What?”

“Did you know your mind suddenly becomes even brighter when you use your powers?” Charles was leaning into Erik's space again. In fact, he was just a moment short of touching. He tapped his temple briefly. “Telepath. I hope you don't mind too terribly. I promise don't pry. Well, usually. Sometimes, though... Sometimes people project, like you did when you used your powers on the springs.”

Erik grinned. “Are you kidding? That's amazing.”

Charles was silent for a moment as if he was waiting for Erik to say something else. “...you're not going to ask me to read your mind?” he eventually said.

“What? Why? No!” Erik protested. “Why would I?”

“Well, people who are enthusiastic about my powers usually ask me for it,” Charles shrugged.

“You didn't ask me to show of mine,” Erik remarked. “Also, I guess that with how bad your German sounded you wouldn't understand most of my thoughts anyway.”

Charles laughed again. “That is true.”

Erik shrugged. “Well, I might have a telepathic friend who told me about that before. So I was cheating here.”

“Hm, but would you show me yours?” Charles' eyes were twinkling again. “I mean, even though I don't show you mine?”

Erik fished out a chain of paper clips from his pocket. “Of course.” He let the clips hover in the air with his powers, first untangling them, before he thought better of it and melted them into a small sphere first and from there reshaped it into a heart which he dropped into Charles hand. “If you really are my Valentine sent by the universe, I thing I ought to give you a present.”

“It's incredible, Erik,” Charles said. He was examining the metal heart closely, running his fingers all over the smooth surface. There was a smile tugging on his lips, even sweeter than the ones he'd presented Erik with before.

So when Charles looked up at him and leaned over, Erik was only too willing to kiss him.

They spent the rest of the time until the train arrived at its destination making out. It made Erik's head spin just how good Charles was at kissing and everything that came with it. More than once, he had to cast thoughts of how it would be to simply take Charles with him and into bed aside.

When the train stopped, Erik wasn't ready to let Charles go. A good bye, it seemed to him, at this point it would be good bye for good. So when they were standing on the platform, grounded again and maybe both realizing that they were strangers even though they had just made out on a public train where they could have been seen any moment, neither of them could find the right words.

Charles licked his lips just as Erik swallowed and so they both started to speak at the same time.

“Come home with me!”

“Can you give me your number?”

They blinked at each other.

“What?” Charles asked, clearly nervous.

Erik had to fight a blush. “Er... wait, I can give you my number...” He searched his wallet for a business card to hide his embarrassment.

“Did you just ask me to go home with you?” When Erik looked up, the small piece of paper in hand, Charles was smiling. “I don't think your mother would much approve.”

Erik cleared his throat. “Er, no, I don't think so.” The blush he had been fighting was now painting the top of his ears bright red.

“But how about we meet tomorrow, I mean today, for lunch, or tea?” Charles said. He kissed Erik again. “A date?”

“Of course!” Erik hooped he wasn't showing too much enthusiasm.

“Good,” Charles smiled. “I'll call you tomorrow morning. Make sure you charge your phone.”

They kissed once again, before they parted ways. Charles went off to find himself a place to stay, while Erik first went to see if there was still some Bahn employee around and—failing to localize one at one in the morning—gave in to call his mother so either she or his father would come to pick him up.

~*~

Charles and Erik had the date the next day. In fact, it was only the first of many, even though for months there weren't many that didn't consist of extended skype calls. Later on, they started to spend extended weekends together and before they knew, they were planning for something more stable.

Valentine's day three years later found them finally in their shared flat, in their bed, celebrating the day by taking it off to spend the entirety of their anniversary together.

“Do you still not believe in fate?” Charles asked Erik that day. He was lying on top of Erik, his arms crossed on Erik's chest to rest his chin on.

“Considering the facts,” Erik mused. “I just might finally have come to believe.”

 


End file.
